


Lost at Sea

by Dragoncreeper161



Category: Banana Bus Squad
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:01:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21581932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragoncreeper161/pseuds/Dragoncreeper161
Summary: Jonathan is the captain of a ship for the royal navy and his first mate is his loyal friend and lover Evan. They are given an assignment by the king himself to hunt down a reachious pirate known as black beard but their ships get lost at sea and they are forced to take refuge on a mysterious island. Things take a turn for the worst when an evil sea queen ensnares Jonathan into eternal servitude, and it's up to Evan to find and help him remember who he is. Can Evan recapture Jonathan's heart or will he meet a watery grave.
Relationships: Evan Fong/Jonathan | H2ODelirious
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

A/N Hello!! This isn't boding well for the schedule so far because this chapter was supposed to go up yesterday. But it's done now and I really hope you enjoy the concept, I also hope that if you notice any mistakes or have an idea on how I could write something better please let me know. I'm always looking to fix my writing. So anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter and sorry for any errors I may have missed.

He could hear footsteps approaching from down the dock and he took a deep breath of the salty ocean breeze before turning around with a smile on his face “Hey there handsome” the stranger said he wore a fiery red coat that matched his. He also had short black hair and beautiful brown eyes. Jonathan smiled up at the newcomer. He was taller than him for sure but not by much. The man held a hat that had a triangle-like shape with a feather sticking out of it. He tossed it to Jonathan who caught it without a problem. 

“Hello Evan, is everything in order.” Evan straightened his stance and put his hand up to his forehead in a salute. “Yes Captain, the crew just finished loading the last of the supplies now.” “Good,” Jonathan said placing and positioning the hat on his head. He started to walk down the dock with Evan trailing slightly behind. He reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a scroll that had the wax seal of the king.

“orders from the king,” Evan said handing Jonathan the scroll. Jonathan took a deep breath before breaking the seal and unrolling the scroll revealing a wanted poster and a letter from the king himself. “King Charles the VI hereby orders you, Jonathan Captain of the Endeavor and your crew to hunt down the scoundrel known as black beard and his no-good murderous crew of pirates. The king orders that you try to capture the felon alive so that he may be tried for treason and murder in the king’s court, but if you feel that it is not possible to capture him alive bringing some proof of his death will suffice. Signed the commanding officer of the Royal Navy and the king.” Jonathan read out loud so Evan could hear as they made their way towards their ship. 

“Sounds like fun,” Evan said. “Indeed” Jonathan agreed “we can finally hunt down another one of those disgusting pirates,” Jonathan said “all they do is drink, pillage and murder the innocent” Jonathan continued to rant and Evan just nodded along. “Captain Jonathan! First mate Evan!” Jonathan stopped his rant and looked up to see one of the youngest and newest member of his crew running towards them. He stopped a few feet in front of them and stood at attention.

The boy bright blue eyes and sandy blond hair with little freckles scattered across his face. He was much shorter than both Evan and Jonathan and he looked no older than 14. Jonathan smiled warmly at the kid “yes Lucas was is it” Jonathan asked “the ship is ready for her journey and can leave at any time, sir” Lucas said almost too enthusiastically “good” Jonathan said and turned to Evan “is there anything you need before we head out” Evan was caught off guard a bit by the question “uhh no?” “Good!” Jonathan said quickly “ then tell the crew we shall set sail immediately” he ordered. Lucas smiled brightly “ yes sir!” He said before running off to tell the rest of the crew. 

“Cute kid,” Evan said and Jonathan nodded in agreement “hard worker too” he added as they once again started to walk down the dock towards their ship. “ I can’t help but feel bad for him though,” Evan said “he so young he shouldn’t have to do the work he does”

“It can’t be helped” Jonathan said “someone needs to earn money in that family, his father is a no-good deadbeat and his mother has 6 other children to take care of” “ I understand that” Evan said “but I just feel like there is more that I can do to help” there was a small pause of silence that was only filled by their boots clacking on the wooden dock and the sound of the waves beneath them. “to my understanding this voyage is projected to be a long one,” Jonathan said “maybe you can teach him a few skills that can help him get out of this line of work” Evan looked at Jonathan a bit confused “like what” 

Jonathan thought about it for a bit “well does he know how to read” he started. “I don’t think so,” Evan said “well you can start there” Jonathan suggested and he saw a worried expression cross Evan’s face. “I don’t know Jonathan I don’t think I’ll be a very good teacher” Jonathan smiled at Evan’s lack of confidence he honestly thought it was kinda cute “you’ll do fine and if you get stuck I can help you,” he said. Evan smiled at Jonathan a little more sure of himself. “okay I’ll try” he said as they approached a large wooden ship. 

It had massive white cloth sails that were tied down to towering wooden masses and flapping in the wind at the very top was the red white and blue, British flag. Jonathan stepped up onto a plank that led up to the deck. The crew that had been scrambling around moments ago froze in their place and stood at attention as Jonathan stepped onto the deck. Jonathan gave a quick salute back and walked across the deck to a set of stairs that lead up to the helm. He gripped the ship’s wheel in his hand and took a deep breath. 

“Hoist the anchor and prepare to set sail!” Jonathan commanded and the crew sprung into action. They dropped the sails and untethered the ship from the dock. They slowly raised the anchor from the sea and Evan walked up to a table just behind Jonathan that had a basket filled to the brim with maps. Evan pulled one out and laid it across the table. He took out a compass from his pocket and started to map out the expected course. 

Jonathan spun the wheel and the sails cracked as they caught the wind. The ship pulled out of the harbor and started marking its way towards deeper waters. “Evan do you have our course mapped out yet,” Jonathan asked and went to turn around when he noticed Evan standing right beside him with the map in hand. “it’s right here,” Evan said handing over the map as he did he leaned forward and quickly pecked Jonathan on the cheek. Jonathan jabbed his elbow into Evan’s stomach just hard enough to get him to back off. “ not in front of the crew” Jonathan growled in annoyance but his cheeks were red hot with embarrassment. 

Evan just winked and smiled continuing on like nothing happened. “ according to reports Black Beard was last spotted near the southern shores of the Isle of Arran” Evan said pointing at a small cluster of islands on lower corner of the map” Jonathan looked over the route Evan had drawn out one last time before making adjustments to the ship's course by spinning the wheel. Once he got the ship going in the right direction he locked the wheel in place and turned back to Evan. “How long do you think it will take us to reach Arran,” he asked. 

Evan looked up at the sails “if this wind keeps up I’d say at least 2 weeks” Jonathan nodded in acknowledgment, walked over to the table and picked up a logbook. He flipped to the last page that had anything written on it and examined it. “Good we have a little over 3 weeks of supplies,” he said closing the book and setting it back down. Evan took a deep breath and smiled “two whole weeks” he said kinda dreamily. Jonathan raised an eyebrow at this “what’s got you so happy” he asked crossing his arms with a small smirk tugging on his lips.

“Oh, I don’t know…” Evan said with a sly smile walking a little closer to Jonathan “two whole weeks stuck on a boat together” Evan said softly with an emphasis on together. Evan got even closer to Jonathan and lean down to whisper in his ear “we haven’t had that much time together in a while have we” Jonathan felt his cheeks heat up bright red and he tried to shove Evan back but he only leaned in closer. Evan wasn’t much taller than Jonathan but when they were standing this close Jonathan couldn’t help but feel like Evan towered over him.

Evan kissed Jonathan on the lips and any insecurities that Jonathan had quickly melted away as Evan deepened the kiss. Evan pulled away much sooner than Jonathan would have liked and smiled “a little preview for the weeks to come,” Evan said playfully tapping Jonathan on the nose and turning away from him and back to the maps. Jonathan stood there a bit shocked and left craving more.

Jonathan felt his hands grip tightly into a fist as he spun around and turned his attention back to the wheel. Damn him Jonathan thought how could he just tease me like that. Jonathan could still feel the warmth from Evan’s kiss and his stomach felt like butterflies. Evan was the only person that could make him feel this way, to completely take over his thoughts, his desires and he knew it. The thought of Evan leaning over that table pretending to be reading the map with a sly smile on his face knowing just how much he had an effect on him pissed Jonathan off. 

Just one kiss was all it took to send Jonathan down a spiral of emotions. He was his biggest weakness but also his biggest strength. Jonathan felt himself slowly start to smile he’d definitely make sure Evan paid for making him feel this way tonight. And sure enough he did but if he was honest with himself he probably just gave Evan what he wanted but at the end of the day, he was fine with that. Thought Evan might have had to second-guess himself about his decision to tease Jonathan made Jonathan smile. Evan definitely couldn’t walk right for a couple of days and all Jonathan could do was smirk pridefully when ever Evan would wince as he tried to sit down. 

Time continue to move as their ship made its way across the sea towards Arran and soon they found that they had been at sea for a little over a week and a half and they were able to see the tiniest slit of land on the horizon. The sun shined brightly over head baking the crew on deck and boiling those below. Jonathan took a sip from a canteen and twisted the lid closed. Evan was leaning over the map carefully tracking their movements so that they didn’t get lost. While little Lucas sat in a chair in the corner gripping a book in his hand.

Evan has definitely done a better job at teaching the boy how to read then Jonathan thought he would. There were very few times Evan would ask Jonathan for help and when he did it was mostly to reassure something he had already knew. Lucas has taken to reading very well and seemed to be a fast learner and a very hard worker. Whenever he wasn’t being taught something by Evan he was right there next to Jonathan asking if there was anything else he could do to help. 

Honestly Jonathan started to take a liking to the boy and he could tell that Evan was starting to get attached to the kid as well. He was super polite and was constantly thanking them for teaching him how to read and a bunch of other important skills like how to navigate using the stars. Jonathan smiled fondly at the thought of Lucas and let his mind wander down the rabbit hole of what it would be like if he and Evan managed to start a family. 

He could picture Evan as a father and how happy they would be together. His mind didn’t want to let go of that dream even as he felt someone tapping his shoulder. Jonathan reluctantly let the dream go and turn around to see Evan standing behind him “We should adjust our course by 4 degrees.” Evan said and Jonathan twisted the wheel accordingly. Evan raised an eyebrow and Jonathan’s dream expression “what are you thinking about” he asked but Jonathan just smiled “nothing” he said. Evan opened his mouth to push for more answers when something caught his attention. 

“Ship!” Someone screamed. Jonathan looked up to the crow’s nest to his spotter who was pointing out towards the sea. “ ship on the western horizon” both Evan and Jonathan shot each other a look before rushing to the edge of the ship. Evan pulled out a telescope and tossed it to Jonathan. He extended the scope and brought it up to his eye. He scanned the western horizon trying to find the ship. 

Jonathan finally spotted it and studied it. The ship was smaller then theirs but not by much. It’s sails were slightly torn in some places and pretty worn down. Resting at the top of the tallest mass was a black flag with a skull and crossbones. Jonathan lowered the telescope “the Jolly Roger” he muttered. “That’s them” he said louder so the rest of the crew could hear him. “Change courses, full speed ahead” Jonathan commanded causing the crew to scramble into positions. Jonathan ran back the wheel and spun it harshly changing their direction radically. “Get those cannons load” Evan shouted jumping down to the lower deck to help. 

They began their chase hunting down the ship bearing the black flag. Though it didn’t last long as the ship their were chasing slowly slipped into a fog and out of sight. “Damn it” Jonathan growled looking through the telescope as he lost sight of the ship. “ should we follow them” Evan asked looking eager. Jonathan bit his lip and concisetered their options. They could enter the fog and risk possibly getting lost or ambushed. Or maybe they could manage to ambush the pirates they wouldn’t expect them to follow. Jonathan took a deep breath before giving his order “ continue on but proceed with caution” their ship slowly entered the fog and soon their were completely engulfed by the thick mist. 

The fog was so dense that Jonathan could barely see the front of the ship. Evan walked up to the edge of the ship and looked down. The ocean looked as black as ink due to the lack of sun. On top of that it was eerily calm and quiet. Evan turned away from the edge and walked over to Jonathan who was staring at his compass. He looked up at Evan as he walked over and held out the device for him to see. Evan stared at it in bewilderment as the needle in the compass spun wildly in its containment. Both Evan and Jonathan shared a look of concern “I think it’s best if we turn this ship around” Jonathan said pocketing the compass. Evan nodded in agreement and turned to the crew and started to give out orders. Jonathan spun the wheel and slowly the ship made a 180 and they started to make their way back to where they came from. 

Hours seemed to pass and they where still surrounded by the thick fog. Evan fidgeted with a little gold owl connected to his pants by a chain as he stared at the map struggling to figure out where they were. “I don’t understand” Evan said frustrated “we had barely entered the fog why the hell is it taking us so long to get out of it” Evan began to pace back and forth while Jonathan just watched calmly “perhaps we didn’t complete the 180” Jonathan said “it was hard to tell just how far we turned without the compass working”.

“No” Evan said still pacing “I’m almost positive that we did a complete 180” Jonathan took a deep breath and stepped forward in front of Evan forcing him to stop. He understood why Evan was so nervous and honestly he was too, something about the fog was eerie and longer he was in it the more unnerved he felt, but he still managed to keep a brave face. Evan stopped just in front of him and Jonathan took his hand in his and gave a reassuring squeeze.

“Relax Evan, you worry too much” he said. Jonathan carefully took the owl from Evan’s hand and smiled at it fondly. “ I can’t believe you still have this” Jonathan said slightly amused. Evan blushed and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment taking the owl back from Jonathan and putting it back in his pocket. “Well you did give to me” Evan said and Jonathan just smirked and turned back to the wheel.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be out of this fog in no time.”


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Hello!! I’ve got another chapter out now. Sorry, it took a bit but none the less I hope you enjoy it. Sorry if I missed any errors 

Minutes slowly turned to hours which slowly turned to days and eventually a full week had passed. Evan could feel his stomach growl and his mouth felt dry with thirst. He stared out into the dark fog and watched as it slowly brightened. ”I think the sun is rising again,” he said, turning to look at Jonathan who was leaning on the wheel weak from hunger and thirst as well. They had been lost in this fog for over a week now and they ran out of supplies a few days ago. Both Evan and Jonathan gave up their rations to Lucas when they noticed they were starting to run low, and Evan’s stomach growled again he hadn’t eaten anything in the past four days and he knew the rest of the crew was starting to definitely feel hungry and maybe even a bit desperate. 

”damn this fog” Jonathan mumbled standing up straight even though his stomach hurt to do so. He looked down at his crew on the lower deck, they all were sluggish and miserable looking. They did their jobs sloppily while others didn't bother at all. A few fights had broken out earlier and it was up to even to break it up. One of the fights, however, was so bad that they wouldn't even listen to Evan and Jonathan had to step in himself to calm down the two trouble makers. If things didn't start getting better soon it might get to a point where even he couldn't stop the crew from fighting.

He looked over to Evan who had gone back to staring at the endless fog that’s when he noticed something. The fog seemed a bit different up ahead then it did to on the side of the ship. Jonathan looked forward he could swear he could see a shadow in the distance. He squinted his eyes trying to make out what it was as they got closer to it. Evan also seemed to notice something about the fog.“The fog is thinning” Evan said with a bit of hope in his voice as he stared up at the sky and was able to see it through the layer of fog. 

“Look ahead,” Jonathan said and Evan turn just in time to see what the large shadow was as they broke through the fog, a lushes green island stood before them. The fog formed a ring around the island creating an isolated effect almost like it was surrounded by a towering wall. The crew gawked at the island and its magnificent waterfall flowing off the side of a mountain. 

“Wow,” Evan said taking a deep breath, the air smelled sweet and fresh, “ this place is like paradise,” Evan said smiling at Jonathan. His smile dropped a bit when he noticed Jonathan was almost glaring at the island “ I don’t like it” he mumbled crossing his arms. 

“What” Evan questioned, “why not.” Jonathan hesitated before answering “I don’t know” Jonathan said shaking his head “maybe it’s the hunger talking” he said before sharply turning away from Evan to address the crew. “Prepare to dock, and start gathering supplies to set up camp along the shore,” Jonathan said and Evan watched hope reignite in the crew. They started to move with purpose again quickly gathered all the necessary supplies to set up camp. 

They dropped the anchor into the sea and after making sure it was secured they got to work lowering a small rowboat to take them to and from shore. They had to make multiple trips before they finally got all the supplies and crew members onto the sandy beach. Jonathan stepped down off the rowboat his boots sinking into the wet sand. Evan was already onshore and was currently setting up tents for everyone to sleep in and trying to get a fire going. 

Jonathan walked around the camp making sure everyone was doing a job, he sent out one group to go fishing and another in search of freshwater. Jonathan walked up to the tree line at the edge of the beach. The jungle beyond was thick and overgrown, Jonathan couldn’t help but feel chills as he stared deeper into the trees. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching him just beyond his line of sight. Jonathan heard his name being called and turned his back to the forest even though it made him feel vulnerable. 

Evan walked over to him with a serious expression on his face, “what’s wrong” Jonathan asked. “Food,” Evan said plainly “fishing is going to take too long and there’s not even a guarantee that they are going to catch anything” Jonathan listened to Evan’s concerns and nodded along “we need another source of food” he said in agreement and turned back to look at the tree line. “I can gather a small group and go looking for something to hunt or maybe even some fruit,” Evan said standing next to Jonathan and looked at the jungle in front of him “an island like this is got to have something edible on it,” Evan said mostly to himself. 

Jonathan was silent for a bit as he continued to stare into the trees “no” he said finally taking Evan by surprise. “No, what do you mean no we need food.” He said looking at Jonathan like he was crazy. Jonathan glared at the tree line “I don’t trust this place” he said and turned to look at Evan “and the last thing I would want to do is send you in there” Evan smiled at Jonathan’s concern “I’ll be fine” he said hugging him and quickly kissed him on the cheek “what’s the worst that could happen” Evan said expecting Jonathan to let him go but he just shook his head and pushed Evan away. 

“I said no and that’s final,” Jonathan said “we’ll wait and see how the fishing goes and then decide from there,” Jonathan said turning away from Evan and the jungle and started walking back to camp. Evan watched him go before looking back at the jungle with a determined look on his face. Jonathan walked up to the biggest tent in the camp which was, of course, his and stepped inside. Evan had already set everything up just the way he liked it and he quickly pulled out the logbook and started to write up a report. 

Soon after he finished he pulled out the map that Evan had drawn their course on and tried to figure out exactly where they where. Jonathan felt like he was staring at the map for what seemed like at least an hour before he finally gave up trying to figure out where they were by himself. He let out a frustrated sigh and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. Where the hell were they was all he could think about when he heard someone enter his tent. 

“Captain Jonathan,” they called and he looked up to see Lucas standing in attention looking pretty happy with himself. Jonathan smiled at the boy “Lucas how did fishing go?” He asked but he was pretty sure what the answer was going to be just from Lucas's expression. He smiled brightly “we caught a bunch of fish!” He said “I’d say there’s enough for everyone to have at least two” Jonathan laughed at the kid’s excitement as he stood up and walked over to him. Jonathan places his hand on top of the kid’s head and ruffled his hair. 

“Good job kid,” he said and he saw Lucas’s eyes light up with pride. “Now go get something to eat,” Jonathan said pushing him towards the tent’s opening “okay,” Lucas said and walked out of the tent only to stop and poke his head back in. “Do you want me to bring you back some?” he asked and Jonathan smiled at his concern but waved him off “no I’ll be there in a bit but you could do me a favor and ask Evan to come here once he’s eaten.” He said but Lucas gave him a confused look “umm Evan’s not here” 

Jonathan snapped his head up from the map he was looking at “what!” He said a bit harshly causing Lucas to jump “ye… yeah he left with a few other people awhile ago, he said something about going hunting” Jonathan felt his heart skip a beat and he slammed his fist down on the table “damn him” he swore and quick ran passed Lucas and out of the tent. He ran through the camp earning confused looks from the crew and towards the tree line. Jonathan stopped at the very edge of the beach and screamed Evan’s name hoping he could hear him, but he knew it was pointless even if he did hear him there was no way Evan would just come walking back to camp. Jonathan felt his hands tighten into fists "damn him" he mumbled again, "why does he always have to be so stubborn." 

“Captain?” Lucas asked carefully “is everything all right” Jonathan looked back at Lucas and felt kinda bad for scaring him. He let out a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose “yeah everything’s fine” he said and tried to smile at him “let’s go and get something to eat.” They both started to make their way to the campfire and Jonathan couldn’t stop the feeling of being watched as he looked over his shoulder and back at the jungle as they walked away from it.

Jonathan poked at the fire in front of him with a stick trying to adjust the position of the logs to get a hotter fire. Embers and smoke floated into the darkened sky. The camp was quiet and most of the crew were asleep in their tents with a few exceptions standing guard. Jonathan set a copper kettle filled with freshwater above the fire to heat up. He sat close by in the warm sand waiting for it to boil. Jonathan pulled his attention away from the fire and looked up at the night sky.

The moon was slowly starting to set behind the ring of fog that surrounded the island. With the absents of the moon, the entire island was submerged into a deep darkness but it allowed for hundreds no billions of stars to fill the black void. Jonathan stared up at the twinkling stars with the crackling fire beside him and let his thoughts consume him. Ever since they stepped foot of this island he couldn’t shake this feeling of dread. Something just felt wrong about this island, like that cold chill you get when you walk into a graveyard at night or when you know your somewhere you shouldn’t be. Every instinct in your body is on high alert and the tiniest things can set them off and make you jump out of your skin. 

Jonathan closed his eyes and focused. He tried to push away every stray thought tugging at his conscience and just focused on the island. He strained his ears trying to catch the tiniest sound that could alert him to a predator lurking in the bushes but there was nothing. Jonathan opened his eyes in surprise and turned his head to look at the trees lining the beach. There was not even alone cricket singing its song, the forest was perfectly still. Jonathan stood up and walked away from the warm glow of the fire towards the shadowy cold of the forest. There were no sounds of any animals scurrying away as he approached, just deadly silents. 

Jonathan could feel the hairs on the back of his neck as he started deeper into the forest. He could feel something there staring back at him but he couldn’t see it, he couldn’t hear it. It was like the island itself was watching him, hunting him. Jonathan took a deep breath and tried to settle his nerves before making his way back to the fire. By now the water in the kettle was boiling and Jonathan carefully tried to remove the lid. The lid clanked several times against the pot as he lifted it, the tea leafs spilled as he tried to pour them in. That’s when Jonathan noticed how badly his hands were shaking. 

Jonathan tried to clench them into fists but that didn’t stop them from trembling. Had just the eeriness of the forest shaken him up that badly? Jonathan slowly turned his head to look up at the tall dark mountain that stretched into the slowly lightening sky. 

No, it wasn’t just the island or its forest, it was the fact that Evan went in there… and hadn’t come back


	3. Chapter 3

A/N Hello again! So it's been a while but I'm back at it. I just got a bit wrapped up with dealing with other things but I've gotten most of that out of the way so now I can focus on writing stories again. So I hope you enjoy this chapter. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes I may have missed, I was really itching to get this chapter up. soo enjoy!

Jonathan continued to pace back and forth in front of the fire. He could feel his nerves start to ramp up as time continued to march on and the sky grew lighter and lighter. Slowly more of the crew started to wake and the sun began to peek up over the fog on the horizon, and there was still no sign of Evan or the group he was with. Jonathan stopped his pacing, he had waited long enough, he called out to the crew and waited for them to gather together before speaking. 

“Has anyone heard from the hunting party that went out yesterday?” he asked but all he got in response was unsure mummers and shaking heads. “Damn…” Jonathan said under his breath. “Start gathering supplies and get a search party in order” he commanded. 

“Garett, Robert, Jim, Thomas, you’re with me. Lucas and Theodore, stay and watch the camp, The rest of you divide yourselves up into 2 groups of 4.” The crew scrambled around the camp gathering the supplies they needed as Jonathan continued to shout orders. 

“Group one will head south and make their way around the island and group 2 will go north until you meet up with group 1,” Jonathan said as Lucas gave Jonathan a sack of provisions. Jonathan muttered a quick thanks to the boy and tied it to his belt. “If any of you find something, send up a smoke signal and wait for the rest of us to get there do you understand?” Jonathan asks and the crew responded with a firm yes sir. 

“Get moving then!” Jonathan yelled and the crew rushed to follow Jonathan’s orders. Jonathan watched them all leave and turned to look at the mountain that rested in the center of the island, that’s where he and his group were going to search. Jonathan felt a tug on his jacket and turned to see Lucas standing there with a worried expression “will Even be alright?” He asked.

Jonathan didn’t know what to say at first he didn’t want to worry the boy any more than he already was but he also didn’t want to lie to the kid and tell him everything was going to be okay. Jonathan took a deep breath and thought carefully before replying. “I’m sure Evan will be fine, he just probably ran into a little bit of trouble that’s all. Now make sure you take good care of the camp okay and do whatever Theodore tells you okay” Lucas nodded clearly not satisfied with his answer and ran back to the camp. 

Jonathan felt a little pain in his chest when he thought about how worried Lucas was for Evan and how worried he himself was. That pain quickly turned to a small spark of anger “damn that Evan'' he muttered to himself “that stubbornness of his is going to get himself and probably me killed someday” he said shaking his head. 

Jonathan called out to his group, they quickly gathered around him and entered the forest just in front of the camp and they started making their way towards the base of the mountain. Jonathan and his group slowly cut their way through branches and vines but they made progress. It took a little over an hour before they finally reached a clearing in the dense forest and saw they were fairly close to their destination.

They reached the clearing and Jonathan paused for a moment and looked around. There was a field before him that separated them from the start of the rocky Mountain. The field was filled with tall grass that stretched well above his head and swayed gently whenever a breeze passed by. Jim suddenly made a sniffing sound “do you smell that” he asked and continued to sniff the air. “It smells like burnt cloth” 

Jonathan looked back at Jim and was going to ask what he was talking about when he noticed above the tree line in the direction they had come from was a plume of smoke stretching into the sky. “a smoke signal coming from camp” Jonathan said and the rest of the group looked up to see it as well. 

Jonathan felt him let out a sigh of relief, Evan and the group must have just gotten lost and took a while to find their way back to camp. “Come on,” Jonathan said leading the way back into the thick bushes “I’m going to give Evan a piece of my mind” he growled as he stomped through the forest and back towards camp. 

As they got closer the smell of burning fiber got stronger and the smoke that was carried by an occasional gust of wind made Jonathan’s eyes slightly burn. All Jonathan could think about was whoever set up the signal hadn’t done it right. it just smelled odd. As Jonathan started to reach the edge of the forest he was finally able to see the camp and why the smoke signal seemed so off. 

It wasn’t a smoke signal at all, the camp… The camp was burning! Jonathan stood there shocked as well as the rest of the group, but Jonathan quickly snapped out of it when he thought of Lucas and Theodore. “Oh god,” he said in horror before he took off from out of the bushes and into the burning camp screaming their names. 

They all desperately tried to put out the fire and save whatever they could but it was too late. The fire had already consumed everything and Jonathan just hoped it hadn’t consumed Lucas and Theodore as well. The roaring fire soon became just a smoldering mess of charred and burnt fabric from what used to be tents, sleeping bags, and various other objects. All of Jonathan’s logbooks were gone as well as their maps and the boat they used to paddle their way from their ship. All of it turned into useless piles of ash.

There was still one line of hope they hadn’t found any charred bodies in the ruins yet maybe Lucas and Theodore managed to get away from whatever set the camp on fire. “Captain!” Jim called. Jonathan looked up and saw him crouched down looking at the sand just at the edge of camp. 

Jonathan approached him but he held out his hand to tell him to stop. “Be careful where you step” he said, his eyes never leaving the sand. Jonathan understood and crochet down where he was and looked at the sand with him. “There was a struggle here,” he said pointing at the sand with his finger “and from what I can tell, it looks like,” he said looking up at the forest they had just came from. “That two people were dragged off that way.” He finished pointing back towards the forest in the direction of the mountain.

Jonathan stared at the tracks for a moment before standing up and following them into the forest. The rest of the group was hesitant and exchanged worried glances before following him. Jonathan managed to follow the trail all the way back to the clearing only losing it once or twice along the way. 

The tall grass was perfectly still and a chill ran down Jonathan's spine as the feeling of being watched returned. Jonathan carefully glanced around trying to scan for any potential threats. He held up his hand signaling for the rest of the crew to be still and wait. 

He then cautiously stepped out from the bushes and into the field. The grass crunched under his feet as he stepped out farther from the safety of the bushes and into the wide-open field. He kept an eye on the surrounding treeline but he saw nothing. Jonathan then waved to his crew and they all stepped forward joining him on the field. 

They walked forward into the grass and it slowly rose to meet their waist and then their chest until it headed over their heads and they could no longer see above the blades of thin grass. Jonathan continued to push forward leading the way and parting the blades of golden grass with his hands. 

Jonathan’s eyes darted back and forth watching the surrounding area very closely looking for any sights of movement. There was a yelp and a thud behind Jonathan causing him to jump and spin around with his gun drawn. Jonathan looked and saw that Robert had just tripped over something in the grass. Jonathan let go of the breath he was holding and reholstered his gun. 

“Are you okay?” Jonathan asked when he didn’t get up right away. He didn’t reply, he just continued to stare at the grass in front of him. The group shot each other a look of confusion and concern as Jonathan stepped past them to help. Jonathan saw what Robert was looking at and froze in place. 

He stared down at what he had tripped on and saw a black boot that was similar to his own. Jonathan’s eyes followed up the boot and saw a leg was attached to it and attached the leg was the body of Theodore. Jonathan took a step back from shock. The body was stiff and his face still held a look of terror. 

Three long wooden shafts with feathers on the ends protruding from his chest. Jonathan swallowed and took a step forward crouching down to examine the wounds. “Arrows, ” Jonathan said in conformation as he looked back up at the group. 

They had fear in their eyes and there were only two of them. Jonathan narrowed his eyes at them “Where’s” he started to say when they heard a deafening scream followed by the sound of a gunshot. Jonathan crouched down instinctively and the others followed his lead. “What the hell was that,” Thomas said. “Where did Jim go,” Garrett added. “The coward probably ran off when he saw the body,” Thomas replied, still frantically looking around for the source of the sound. 

“Idiots” Jonathan growled unholstering his gun. “That was Jim” The grass around them started to move as something ran by. Jonathan remained crouched and he held up a finger to his lips signaling for the others to be quiet. The grass continued to shake and rustle around them almost in a circling fashion. Jonathan gritted his teeth whatever it was it was trying to trap them. 

The grass suddenly stopped shaking and Jonathan could no longer hear or see any movement. They remained as still as possible and tried to muffle their breathing with their hands. For a short while, everything was still and Garrett managed to muster up enough courage to speak. “Is it gone?” he asked. Robert tried to shush him but it was too late. 

Jonathan heard the rustling again but this time it was directly behind them. Time seemed to slow as Jonathan turned his head to face whatever was coming but all he saw was Garrett being yanked back into the grass. They could hear his terrified screams for a second before there was just silence. 

Jonathan exchanged looks of horror with Robert and Thomas before the rustling started again and they all tensed up. Jonathan felt his heart start to race but he did his best to remain calm. He held up three fingers and showed them to the group and mouthed the words on three. They nodded back and Jonathan braced himself. He let his fingers fall one by one and the rustling got louder and closer. His last finger dropped and they all bolted forward towards the mountain as fast as they could. 

Jonathan could no longer hear the rusting over his own movements through the grass but he knew it was still there and was catching up fast. Jonathan felt something wizz by his face and Robert who was running a little ahead of him suddenly dropped. 

Jonathan went to quickly help him back to his feet but stopped when he saw the shaft of an arrow sticking out of the back of his head. Robert was dead. Jonathan stumbled a bit from the quick change of momentum and continued to run through the grass as fast as he could. 

He broke through the grass and started running towards the base of the mountain as fast as he could. There was a thud behind him and Thomas let out a cry for help. Jonathan looked back and saw him lying just on the edge of the grass. His body was completely out of the grass all but his left foot. Something yanked him back and Thomas's nails dug into the dirt desperately trying not to be dragged back into the grass. Jonathan slammed his heels into the dirt causing him to skid to a stop. He turned and ran back to Thomas even though every bone in his body screamed at him to leave him and run. 

Jonathan grabbed him by the hand and tried to pull him back but whatever had him wouldn’t let go. Jonathan reached down to his belt, pulled out his loaded revolver and shot it into the grass just above Thomas. There was a human-like howl and the creature let go of Thomas and retreated deeper into the grass. 

Thomas scrambled to his feet with Jonathan's help and they started to run towards the base of the mountain. As they got closer Thomas noticed a small cave hidden in the rocky cliff. “Look” He shouted out of breath as they continued to run. “There’s a cave.” They changed their courses a little and ran straight into the mouth of the cave. They stopped running and Jonathan leaned against the cave’s wall panting.

“What was that?'' Thomas said between breaths and carefully sticking his head out the cave to see if he saw anything following them. “I don’t know,” Jonathan said his mind was racing through a million thoughts a second. What was that thing? God only knows what happened to Jim, and Garrett. Did they end up dead like Robert and Theodore? Where was Lucas and Evan? Thomas continued to ask Jonathan stupid questions and he could feel his frustration growing. 

“Do you think it’s still out there?” he asked and Jonathan snapped. “I don’t know!” He whispered angrily. Jonathan wanted to scream at him but he wasn’t going to let his anger give away their position. “I don’t know what that thing was, and I don’t know what that thing wanted!” he said, running his fingers through his hair in frustration and began to pace back and forth. He’d just lost 4 of his crew members, his camp, Lucas and he still had no clue where Evan was or if he was even still alive. 

Jonathan clenched his fist when he thought about his dead crew members, they had all been good people. They worked hard in life only for it to be ripped away from them in an instant and there was nothing Jonathan could have done to stop it. Whatever that thing was it was going to pay for what it did especially if it hurt Evan. 

There was a noise just outside of the cave and they both froze for a moment to listen. The sound of footsteps slowly grew louder as whatever was producing them got closer. Jonathan and Thomas dove behind a group of rocks and peered over them carefully watching the mouth of the cave as a figure appeared. It was a man. Jonathan stared at him, careful to make sure he wasn’t seen. The man walked weirdly and Jonathan noticed he was dragging something. He felt his eyes widen when he saw that he was dragging behind him was Caleb. Caleb was one of the crewmates that had been assigned to group 2. He had a large arrow sticking out of his chest and was barely breathing as his head smacked against the rocks as the man dragged him deeper into the cave. 

Jonathan signaled to Thomas to try and approach the man from behind and take him out while he served as a distraction. Thomas nodded seeming to understand what Jonathan was saying and waited for the man to pass him before sneaking out from behind his rock. Jonathan ready himself and was about to step forward when the man Thomas was trying to sneak up on spun around with a crude looking knife slashing it at him. 

Thomas stumbled back to avoid the knife. and the man moved to press his attack but hesitated when he must have noticed Jonathan but it was too late. Jonathan had already rushed out from behind the rock and plunged the tip of his sword into the man’s neck. He tried to scream probably in pain but it just came out as a mess of gurgles as the blood poured into his throat from the wound before he fell dead on the cave floor. 

Jonathan quickly wiped off the blood from his sword and resheathed it before turning his attention to Caleb. Thomas was already by his side trying to nurse his wounds as much as he could but when Jonathan knelt down beside them he gave him a hopeless look and shook his head. Jonathan felt the anger he was trying to keep down start to boil again. These people were hurting his crew, the people he considered friends and family. 

Jonathan once again pushed those feelings away and focused on Caleb who was barely conscious. “What happened?” Jonathan asked, “where are the others?” Caleb let out a wheeze followed by a couple of coughs, blood slowly dripping out of his mouth. “ambush” he managed to say “ they came out of nowhere, picked us off one by one” Caleb took a shaky breath. “As far as I’m aware I was the last one” Caleb started to cough and more blood spat out of his mouth. 

He grabbed Jonathan by his jacket and pulled him closer. Jonathan could see the fear in the man’s eyes as he spoke. “it was like the forest was alive, one minute you had someone standing next to you and the next they were gone dragged into the bushes and the only thing you heard was their screams as they were taken or killed.” Jonathan felt Caleb’s grip loosen around his jacket and he saw the fear leave his eyes as they went lifeless. 

Jonathan gently laid him back down on the cave floor and closed his eyes with his fingers before standing up. He looked over at the man he had killed, his skin had been painted over in a variety of shades of greens and browns and his clothing had been made out of leaves. No wonder Caleb thought the forest was coming alive. They had painted their skin to blend in with the plants around them making them much harder to spot. Jonathan looked away from the body and deeper into the cave. 

“Come on,” Jonathan said, waving Thomas over as he started walking deeper down the cave. “What! why are we going down there?” he asked as he caught up to Jonathan. “That man was taking Caleb to somewhere down here, maybe that’s where the rest of the crew is,” Jonathan said and Thomas nodded. They began making their way down the dark cavern and at first all Jonathan could hear was the echoes of their own footsteps and the occasional water droplets splashing on the cave floor. Jonathan’s hearing then began to focus on something else echoing up from the cave. 

It was a steady rhythm that sounded soft and distant. The rhythm started to get louder as he and Thomas carefully stepped through the cavern, and he was now able to make out low voices following the rhythm. As they got closer to the sound Jonathan was finally able to recognize it to be drums. a group of drums and the voices seem to be some sort of chant. 

There was light in the distance and Jonathan noticed a hole in the cave wall ahead of them where the light poured through. The cave continued to the left with a very steep descent and Jonathan could see it led into an open area. 

They approached the opening and peered through it. There was a larger cove that led straight into the sea. The ocean crashed on a combination of sandy shores and rocky ledges that hung over the water's edge. 

Jonathan’s eyes followed up the ledge that had shallow stairs carved into it. At the top of the ledge was a flat stone table that had weird carvings along its side. Jonathan looked around for the source of the drums and his eyes caught the shadows of dancing figures illuminated by fire on the cove’s wall. 

Jonathan leaned out a bit more to get a better look and was able to see people sitting in the sand with drums in their laps beating a rhythm. In front of them was a large bond fire that had many more people dancing around it all dressed in what seemed to be brightly colored feathers and paint. Some of them wore weird masks and had sticks that made noise when they were shaken. 

There was a taller man standing next to the drummers with his arms crossed and had a headdress made out of the same feathers as the outfits of the fire dancers. He watched the people dance with a pleased look on his face. Everything about this man screamed leader to Jonathan as he observed them. Jonathan watched the man raise his hands and silence fell across the cavern. The dancers stopped and turned to look at the chief from what Jonathan assumed and waited. There was a long pause before the chief started speaking to them and Jonathan took this opportunity to scan the cave looking for any signs of Evan or the rest of the crew. 

There may be about 20 feet away from the fire tied to a large rock was Evan, Lucas, and few other crew members, but it still wasn’t all of them. There were maybe 10 other people there. Jonathan gritted his teeth, as he thought about what probably happened to the rest of his crew. He needed to get down there. He started to move when Thomas put a hand on his shoulder. “Wait look” he whispered. 

Jonathan looked back down and saw that the chief had finished speaking and two of the fire dancers were now at his side. The chief bent down and picked up a large staff that was covered in shells and seaweed. He started walking towards Evan and the crew and Jonathan noticed that they had gone completely still. He stopped just in front of them and stared at each and every one of them before finally pointed the end of the stick right at Lucas. 

Evan tried to yell something but it was muffled by the rag that was gagging him. The two fire dancers started to make their way towards Lucas but Evan moved himself as best he could so that he was partly in front of Lucas. He started to kick his feet as the two approached and he managed to hit one of them in the chest knocking him back a bit. 

Evan continued to kick desperate to keep the two men away when the chief, clearly frustrated by Evan’s action, took the end of the staff and swung it into the side of Evan’s head. The blow was strong enough to break the skin somewhere underneath Evan’s hairline because blood began to drip down the now dazed Evan’s face. 

Jonathan felt a spark of rage within himself, every bone in his body wanted to run down there and beat the ever-living daylights out of that man for hitting Evan. Jonathan’s hand tightened around the rock he was hiding behind trying to control his anger. He needed to play this right. he’d just end up getting them all killed if he just ran in there. He needed to be patient and see what they were doing. Now that Evan has been subdued the men grabbed Lucas and started dragging him towards the stone table. Lucas barely resisted but he had tears streaming down his face as they threw him onto the stone table and restrained him to it. Once Lucas was secure the two men made their way back to the fire and resumed their dancing as the chief started chanting again followed by the drums. 

Jonathan nudged Thomas and motioned for him to follow. They need to get down there as quickly and as quietly as they could. If they managed to time this right they could get to Evan and the crew while the chief and the others were distracted. The only obstacle in their way was a couple of guards with long sharp spears. 

Jonathan and Thomas made their way closer to Evan when the rhythm of the drums changed and the chief stopped chanting. He could hear Evan’s muffled screams again as he desperately pulled at his bindings. The chief turned away from the fire forcing Jonathan and Thomas to duck to avoid being seen. The chief faced the rocky ledge where Lucas was and started walking towards it. The drums started to beat louder and Jonathan finally put the pieces together as the chief stood over Lucas. 

“Oh god…” Jonathan said in realization. “this is some sort of ritual and they are going to kill him.” Jonathan whispered to Thomas. “We’ve got to stop this now,” Jonathan said desperately drawing his sword. He went to stand up when Thomas pulled him back. “Are you crazy! There’s too many of them” he said. 

“Well, we can’t just sit here and do nothing!” Jonathan growled. “Look I’ll distract them, you sneak over there and cut them free” he pulled out a knife from his boot and handed it to Thomas. He took the knife and wished Jonathan luck. Jonathan nodded and moved to another rock to put some distance between them. Jonathan looked up at the chief and saw the glint of a blade being drawn from its sheath. Jonathan watched in horror as he raised it over the boy. If he was going to do something he needed to do it now. 

Jonathan steeled his nerves and gripped his sword tighter before rushing out of his hiding spot screaming like a mad man. Jonathan rushes towards the very first person he saw and took them by surprise. He grabbed them by the hair and pulled their head back holding the sword against his neck. His grip tightened and he held the man closer as the rest of the tribe picked up a weapon to fight but they all hesitated when they saw Jonathan had a hostage.

“Let him go now!” Jonathan demanded “or he gets it!” He pushed his sword a little harder into the man’s neck drawing a bit of blood. Everyone turned to the chief who had walked halfway down from the table and stood there glaring at Jonathan. Jonathan glared back at him and the chief looked away from him to the hostage Jonathan had. He spoke a few words to him that Jonathan couldn’t understand and the man stiffened for a moment but eventually nodded his head. 

A look of sadness seemed to cross the chief's face before he suddenly turned away leaving Jonathan a bit confused. Was this really working? could they really get out of here alive? The chief started to walk back up the rocky ledge towards Lucas and Jonathan could feel the hope continue to grow thinking that he was going to free him. But then Jonathan noticed something.

The man he was holding hostage started to sob. Then out of nowhere, an arrow implanted itself into the man's head killing him instantly with a loud thump. Jonathan was completely stunned and the sudden weight of the dead body knocked him off balance. The other guards pounced before Jonathan even fully understood what happened and had him pinned to the ground in seconds with a spear tip held close to his face. 

Jonathan swore and the chief smiled as he turned his back again to him and looked back down at Lucas. He slowly took the knife out again and resumed his chanting. The drums started up again and the dancers joyfully began to dance around the fire. Jonathan felt despair set in as he helplessly watched the chief perform his ritual. He held the blade high above Lucas still chanting. 

“No!” Jonathan screamed trying to push off the men that were holding him down but all they did was push the tips of their spears deeper into Jonathan's back. He was forced to stop struggling and watched in horror as the drums stopped and the chief brought the knife down. The blade pierced Lucas' chest and plunged into his heart. Lucas let out a weak yelp that sounded like the air in his lungs was suddenly ripped out of him before going limp on the cold stone table. 

The cave was engulfed with silence as the chief pulled the knife back out of the boy’s body. He held the knife in front of himself for everyone to see before he turned and walked towards the edge of the cliff. When he got there he dropped to one knee and held the knife out over the sea. 

Jonathan slowly started to recover from his shocked state and felt his anger start to boil over. “You bastard!” Jonathan screamed but the chief ignored him and continued to hold out the bloody knife. A drop of blood slowly slid down the knife’s edge before it fell from the tip and into the water below. Then something strange happened, the water started to bubble where the drop of blood had fallen. The water slowly started to rise like a rope would when a snake charmer played his song. 

It rose up to where the chief was and paused. It almost had a sentient feeling to it as it looked from the chief to the knife. The water wrapped around the blade and the once crystal clear water became murky with blood. It pulled away from the knife and then suddenly dropped like gravity’s switch was flipped back on. 

The chief tried to reach out and grab the water but there was nothing he could do as it fell back into the ocean. There was a small pause and the chief stood there with a disappointed look on his face. He shook his head and turned around to face the rest of the tribe when there was a loud bang and he stumbled back a bit in pain and shock. 

Jonathan looked over and saw Evan standing there with his pistol still smoking from being fired. Just behind him was Thomas desperately trying to cut the rest of the crew free. Jonathan looked back at Evan who had tears streaming down his face mixing with the blood from his head wound and he glared at the chief with a look of pure hatred. The chief looked down at his chest as blood slowly fell from the bullet wound. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body fell back over the edge of the cliff and into the sea. 

At first, nobody moved, everyone was still getting over the shock of what just happened, then all hell broke loose. 

Evan was the first to react. He dropped his now useless gun and pulled out his sword. He charged towards Jonathan and the stunned guards holding him down. He slashed at the surprised guard who fumbled to lift his spear in time to block, freeing Jonathan’s neck. However the other guard still had the point of his spear on Jonathan’s back, but after Evan made quick work of the first guard. The second guard had a choice to make, either plunge the tip of his spear into Jonathan’s back killing him and hope to bring the spear up in time before Evan cut him down or he could try and save his own skin. And much to 

Jonathan’s relief he chose the second one. The guard lifted his spear to block Evan’s incoming attack. Jonathan felt the pressure of the spear tip leave his back and immediately pulled his leg back and kicked at the side of the guard’s knee. He heard a sickening pop and the man cried in pain as his knee gave underneath him throwing him off balance. 

Evan saw the opening and shifted his attack striking the guard’s ribs with his sword while he was vulnerable. The guard fell limply next to Jonathan blood spilling from his fatal wound. Evan reached his hand down and pulled Jonathan to his feet. 

“Are you alright?” He said in a calm voice but Jonathan could still hear the pain in it. Evan was just trying to put on a brave face, he knew he would be a wreck when this was all over, that is if they made it out at all. While Evan was working to save Jonathan, the rest of the crew cut had been free by Thomas and joined in on the fray and by now the tribe had recuperated from the loss of their chief. 

The cavern echoed with the tribes howls, whistling arrows, the clashing of swords and the small booms of guns going off. Evan and Jonathan fought back to back both using their swords to fight off their attackers. Suddenly there was a loud sound almost like a trumpet. Jonathan looked over his shoulder and saw one of the tribe’s men blowing deeply into a conch shell before getting shot by one of his crewmates. A smaller more remote conch shell could be heard from somewhere outside of the cavern and Jonathan got a sinking feeling that he wasn’t going to like what followed. 

“Shit!” Evan swore breathing heavily “there’s more of them.” Jonathan looked back and saw 4 more come through the way Jonathan had with more to come. They wore slightly different clothing than the ones in the cave. They had mud spread all over their bodies and their clothing was made only out of sticks and leaves, and they were goddamn fast. 

Jonathan slashed at one of the newcomers but he managed to dodge his blow and quickly resumed his assault. Jonathan barely managed to raise his sword in time to block the dagger the man had aimed right at his neck. 

Evan was having just as much trouble at defending them off as Jonathan was. “These are the guys that jumped us in the forest” he yelled, “they’re fast, agile, and ruthless.” Evan growled, “we were already outnumbered but now…” 

Evan didn’t finish his sentence, he didn’t have to, Jonathan knew what he meant. There was a good chance that they weren’t going to make it out of here alive, scratch that they were almost certainly not going to make it out alive. There were just too many of them, but they couldn’t stop now they had to keep going. 

They continued to fight and managed to cut through a good number of them more than what Jonathan ever thought they would. There were maybe 10 or less still standing before them. Jonathan could hear Evan breathing heavily over his own, then he released something he and Evan were the only ones still standing. He quickly turned his attention back to the foes in front of him. His body ached with exhaustion and his sword started to grow heavier. He suddenly started to feel alone with how many people he had to face and fatigue was starting to set in. 

“Jonathan!” Evan said sternly snapping him out of his thoughts. Jonathan glanced over at Evan and saw that he wore a nervous smile on his face. “ don’t get cold feet on me now.” He said never taking his eyes off the enemy. Jonathan felt his resolve harden and soon he had a smile of his own.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”


	4. Chapter 4

A/N Hello Again! I’ve finally finished another chapter and with high school over with maybe I’ll finally have more time to focus on this story, but we’ll see what collage has in store for me. Anyways I hope you enjoy the chapter sorry for any mistakes I may have missed and if you see an area, I can improve in please let me know!

The next few minutes were kind of a blur for Jonathan. Everything happened so quickly his brain didn’t have time to process it all until he saw Evan slay the last person attacking them. His shirt had blood splattered all over it and he even had droplets dripping off his face. From what Jonathan could tell most of it wasn’t his but he still wanted to be sure, he didn’t want to end up losing him too.

Evan let his sword fall from his hand as he killed the last man and stumbled back partly from shock but mostly from pure exhaustion. He slowly turned his head and scanned over the gruesome sight on the beach. All he saw was his crewmates lying dead in the sand that had turned red from the blood and slowly leaked into the ocean. His eyes dared to glance up at the stone table and a sick feeling started to grow in his stomach.

Jonathan stepped in front of him blocking his view and start examining him for wounds. Evan was pretty sure he was alright aside from the few gashes and cuts here and there, but it was nothing fatal. 

Jonathan forced himself to focus on checking Evan’s wounds, but he would still catch glimpses of the horrifying scene around them in the corner of his eye as he continued his examination. “Are You Okay” Evan asked his own voice a bit shaky. Jonathan tried to put on a brave face but didn’t look up at Evan as he nodded and let go of his arm only for Evan to grab his. “No, you’re not!” He said looking over the deep gash that ran along Jonathan’s right arm. “I’ll be fine” he answered trying to pull his arm away from Evan. “No,” Evan said not letting go “It’s bleeding a lot we need to clean it and get it wrapped before it gets infected.” “Evan, we don’t have time for this, we need to get out of here! There could be more of them coming,” he said pulling his arm a little harder. Pain flared throughout his arm and he tried to hold in a painful groan. Evan still didn’t let go “At least let me wrap it to stop the bleeding.” Jonathan hesitated, he desperately wanted to leave this place, but Evan was right. “Fine…” Jonathan muttered and allowed Evan to get to work.

Jonathan tried to solely focus on Evan and his moments, but he felt despair slowly start to creep into his mind when he caught a glimpse of the reddening sea trapping him in his thoughts. He lost his entire crew… people who he considered friends, people who had families waiting for them back at the mainland. Jonathan thought of Lucas and felt tears start to swell in his eyes. God, what was he going to tell his mother she had been through so much and to now lose her oldest son. 

Jonathan felt his stomach twist in anger if only he had acted sooner or smarter then maybe everyone would still be alive. Every bone in Jonathan’s body ached and his thoughts raced through all the different choices he could have made that would have stopped these events from occurring, but it was too late. He had made those choices and the people around him suffered because of it. 

Jonathan shut his eyes and held back the urge to let out a scream of frustration and guilt. He felt a gentle squeeze on his arm and was suddenly reminded that Evan was still there. Jonathan kept his eyes shut not yet daring to look Evan in the face. He didn't know if he could handle see Evan’s bruised and bloodied face know he's the reason he was like that. But at least he knew Evan was there and the soft reassuring squeeze helped him realize that he hadn’t completely lost everything.

Jonathan finally gathered the courage to open his eyes and look up at Evan. His dark brown eyes were staring at him intently with looks concern and sorrow. Jonathan quickly realized that Evan was waiting for him to respond to something. Jonathan shook his head trying to clear his thoughts “I’m sorry what did you say?” He asked trying to give Evan a small smile. He could tell that he failed miserably by the look on Evan’s face as he started to repeat the question. ”I said is it to tigh…”

Then something changed in Evan’s expression, it shifted from a worried look to a manifestation of pure terror. He heard Evan scream something at him, but his brain was still trying to process everything. The next thing he knew he was shoved by Evan as something went whistling past him. Jonathan hit the ground and stared up at Evan who stumbled back a bit but remained on his feet. 

Evan glanced down at himself a nervous and terrified smile crossing his lips ”oh…” he said as his eyes fell on the long shaft of an arrow sticking out from his abdomen. Evan’s legs gave and he started to fall down to the floor. 

Time itself seemed to freeze as Jonathan watched him fall. He hadn’t even hit the ground yet and Jonathan already had his gun drawn. His eyes frantically scanned the cliff behind him for where the arrow came from and saw a badly injured man with a gash across his left ribs holding a bow. Jonathan recognized him as the first guard Evan attacked and watched him try and reach for another arrow. Jonathan didn't even give him the chance. He let out a scream of pure rage and pulled the trigger hitting the already half-dead man square in the chest. His body fell back and didn't move again.

Jonathan dropped his gun and quickly crawled over to Evan who was panting on the floor attempting to pull the arrow out himself.

“No, No, No!” Jonathan repeated each one more frantic and desperate than the last as he scrambled to Evan’s side. Jonathan hesitated and stared at the arrow sticking out of him unsure of what to do. Evan continued to try and pull the arrow out, but his hands would slip from how much blood was on them. “Okay, okay, hang on,” Jonathan said still panicking “I’ll get it out of you.” 

Evan gave Jonathan a weak nod before letting his hands fall down to his side. “Umm, okay” Jonathan looked around for a piece of cloth but when he was unable to find any, he took off his coat a tore piece off. He balled up the fabric and handed it to Evan. “Here bite down on this” Evan grasped the cloth with shaky hands and stuffed the cloth in his mouth. Jonathan, who was still on his knees, leaned over Evan and placed one hand flat on his chest just above his wound and gripped the arrow with his other. He glanced over at Evan who was growing noticeably paler and his breathing was starting to quicken. “Are you ready?” Jonathan asked. Evan’s response was muffled by the cloth, but he gave a frightened nod and tightly closed his eyes. Jonathan took a deep breath and closed his eyes as well. He then yanked his hand up and Evan let out a muffled scream and his body jerked in reaction of the arrow being torn free from his flesh.

Jonathan opened his eyes again and all he saw was blood. Dark almost-black blood gushed from Evan’s wound and Jonathan felt his heart sink even deeper in his stomach. The arrow must have hit Evan’s liver or some other internal organ, that’s the only reason why it would be so dark and if blood loss didn’t kill him toxic shock would. Jonathan could feel his hands shaking as he gathered up the rest of his coat and placed it against Evan’s wound hoping to stop the bleeding. Evan let out a gasp of pain as Jonathan put pressure on his wound. He looked up weakly at him and gave him a small sad smile. “I guess this is it for me,” he said through labored breaths. “Don’t talk like that” Jonathan replied trying to sound stern, but it came out weaker and frantic than he would have liked.

“Jonathan” Evan started to say softly, but he cut him off. “No! I’m not going to let you die” he said and pressed harder down on the wound, but it still wouldn’t stop bleeding. Just like the bodies around them who’s blood continued to pour into the ocean that had started to move in unnatural ways.

A stream of crimson red water slowly rose out of the ocean and started sliding its way up the shore behind Jonathan. It twisted and curled like a snake as it made its way over to the pair.

Evan noticed it first and pulled down on Jonathan’s arm trying to get his attention. Jonathan glanced over his shoulder and saw the stream. “Holy Shit!” Jonathan yelled and he scrambled to pick up Evan’s sword off of the beach. He held it out in front of him putting it between himself and the water ready for it to attack. The stream paused for a second when it saw the tip of the sword before it started to move in a slow circle around them. Jonathan kept himself and the sword between the water and Evan before it finally came to a stop. 

Jonathan couldn’t tell what it was doing at first, but then he noticed it was growing and becoming more blob-like. Jonathan continued to watch the water in fear unsure of what to do as the water continued to change shape almost looking vaguely human. Jonathan blinked his eyes trying to figure out if he was seeing things and when he opened them the water was gone.

Instead there stood a tall slender woman with sea grass green hair and eyes as dark as the deepest depths of the ocean. Her skin was pale contrasting with the deep blue dress that flowed off her figure like waves. Little seashells decorated her hair and outlined her dress.

Jonathan couldn’t believe his eyes and he looked quickly down at Evan and saw the same shocked expression. So he really wasn’t seeing things. He looked back up at the mystery woman who now wore a smile. ”How noble,” she said there was something odd about her tone as she said that but Jonathan couldn’t place his finger on it. “A first mate willing to die for his captain” she continued her smiled shifted a bit. She leaned down a bit closer to them and to the tip of the sword barely acknowledging it. “or is it something more” she said standing straight again. 

“Wh..who are you!” Jonathan stuttered and the woman let out a soft chuckle before answering. “I am Galia Goddess of the sea and the damned.” She turned and looked at all the corpses littering the cove’s floor. She had a pleased smile on her face “I was finally given form again by all the blood spilled here today” she said and Jonathan opened his mouth to speak when Evan let out a vicious cough blood starting to drip from the corner of his mouth. 

“Evan!” Jonathan said desperately and dropped the sword rushing back to his side. His entire jacket was now soaked with dark blood and Evan had become too weak to keep the pressure on the wound himself. “Come on hang in there!” Jonathan said reapplying pressure. Galia made a soft humming sound as she watched Jonathan work desperately to save Evan. She began to walk in circles around the two and after the second pass she whispered very softly “I can save him you know.” Jonathan’s head perked up “what did you say?” He asked but she said nothing and continued to gracefully pace around them until she was just behind him.

She let her hand brush gently against Jonathan’s shoulder and leaned down close “I can save him” she repeated softly into Jonathan’s ear. Her voice sent shivers down his spine but he looked up at her with hope in his eyes. She smiled “all I need in return is for you to do a small favor for me after I perform the deed.” Jonathan looked at her wearily “and what would that be” he asked cautiously. Galia stopped pacing and gestured to herself. “The form you see before you may look completely but it is unstable and will not last me long.” She said, “my powers are still too weak due to a curse that was placed on me over a century ago that caused me to lose my form in the first place binding me to the water.” She said with a bitter tone “to sustain it, I need energy or food. and your task would be to help me replenish my energy. Until I’m able to break the curse.” 

“And what do you use for energy,” Jonathan asked and a wicked grin flashed across her face. “It would be what you mortals call a soul. The power of a human soul is great enough that it would suffice in strengthening my current form.”

Jonathan felt his face grow pale, “souls!” He studdered. “H..how would I even do that? I..I..” Galia raised her hand cutting Jonathan off “it’s a rather simple process that you need not worry yourself with now, I will teach you when the time comes.”

Jonathan hesitated before speaking “will I have to hurt innocent people,” he asked and Galia stared at him for a moment “I will have influence over your… condition but, all the choices you make will be your own.” 

Jonathan listened to her price and couldn’t believe he was actually considering accepting her offer but he was just that desperate. Jonathan opened his mouth to ask what she meant by condition but he felt Evan’s grip slightly tighten around his arm. “Don’t do it” Evan whispered. His breathing was labored, his face was ghost white, and he had broken out into a cold sweat. 

“He will not be with us for much longer,” Galia said “I suggested you make your decision soon” “I have one more question,” Jonathan said looking up at the goddess. “Speak it” she replied so Jonathan did. “If your powers can’t sustain your form how do I know you will be able to heal him?” Galia frowned a little and waved off Jonathan’s concerns “the power it takes to heal a single wound is nothing compared to forming a body that contains me without falling apart” she said. “Now do we have a deal”

Jonathan looked down at Evan and gave him a sad smile. Evan was too weak to say anything but he had a worried expression and shook his head ever so slightly. His grip tightened in objection around Jonathan’s arm but it didn’t sway his decision. “We do” he replied and something flashed across Galia’s expression too quick for Jonathan to read as she knelt down next to him and Evan.

Jonathan gently removed his coat and dark blood continued to ooze out of Evan’s wound. Galia carefully placed her hand on the wound and muttered something in a language Jonathan couldn’t understand. Her hand began to glow a softly pale green light and when she removed it Jonathan could no longer see the wound. Instead, there was just a faint scar where the gushing wound used to be. 

“Oh thank god!” Jonathan said smiling at Evan who still felt weak. “He’s lost a lot of blood, he’ll need some time to rest but he will not die of his injuries,” Galia said standing up. “Now it’s time for you to fulfill your end of the bargain.” She said smiling down at Jonathan. He gave Evan a reassuring squeeze before standing up and dusting himself off. He looked up and felt an abrupt sense of dread wash over him. Galia’s smile had grown wider, almost more sinister. In a sudden wave of movement, she shot her hand out and slammed it into his chest. Jonathan was too in shock to scream and the pain he felt was so overwhelming that his vision started to waver especially as she started to pull her hand back.

His chest burned and pain radiated through his entire body. Evan tried to move, he tried to stop whatever was happening to Jonathan, but his body refused to function. Galia removed her hand from Jonathan’s chest with one last jerk causing Jonathan to stumble back a bit grasping at his chest where her hand was. He patted himself expecting to find a gaping hole there but there was nothing. He did, however, feel strangely cold.

Jonathan looked and felt a wave of terror grip him as he started at what Galia held in her hand. It was a living beating heart, and it was his! “What the hell did you just do!” Jonathan screamed. She ignored him at first and continued to stare at the heart beating in her hands. 

“Making sure you're in the proper condition to fulfill your end of the bargain.” She responded her tone turning more psychotic. “and until you do you are mine!” She practically hissed holding the heart out for emphasis “and I can do whatever I wish to you!” And with the snap of her fingers, a small old wood chest appeared before her covered in barnacles and other sea life giving the box an eerie look. She opened the chest and placed Jonathan’s heart inside before closing it and just as quickly it appeared it vanished without a trace. Jonathan started to shiver and he noticed himself becoming colder and colder. His mind started to become fuzzy and it was hard for him to think straight.

Galia grabbed Jonathan by the shirt and started dragging him towards the edge of the water. “Let go of me!” He screamed trying to pull her hand off his shirt but her grip was too strong. He looked back at Evan and reached his hand out for him. “Evan!” He screamed while Evan still struggled to move. He barely managed to roll over onto his stomach and extended his own hand in hopes of reaching him to no avail. “Jonathan” Evan tried to scream but he could barely talk. He was forced to watch Jonathan kick at Galia again as the waves splashed against them hoping to stop her before they went out any farther. Evan finally found his voice and started screaming Jonathan’s name. Jonathan tried to call out to Evan again but it was cut off when he was suddenly dragged below the surface. 

Evan stared at the ocean his whole body quivered in pain, fear, and exhaustion. He screamed Jonathan’s name as loud as he could hoping for a reply but all he got in response was the sound of waves crashing into the sandy shore.


End file.
